390x666
by Hpru01
Summary: Takes places right after Episode 19. Miku and Zorome one shot. After everything that’s happened, Miku and Zorome learn that some dark clouds do have silver linings.


This was intended to be a one shot between Code 390 and Code 666 but it ended up being longer than I expected. The 19th episode released today and this takes place right after the 19th episode. Spoiler warnings to those who haven't seen it. I don't own anything. Rights go to their respectful owner.

390x666

Squad 13 was having breakfast as they usually do, Zorome heard his name being called from the bedrooms in the waiting quarters they were assigned after leaving the Mistilteinn. He groaned as he got up from his seat at the table and excused himself, leaving the rest of his squad to continue eating.

Walking away from the dining table, he ran into Ichigo who gave him a compassionate look before sitting down to have breakfast.

Zorome headed for the tight sleeping quarters they had in the small box they were told to wait in for their next assignment. As he got to the girls quaters, he saw that Miku was laying on her mattress, facing the wall.

Their sleeping quarters, similar to the boys, consisted of mattresses laid beside each other on the ground. The space was so small that the mattresses were pressed up together and covered the entirety of the floor.

"You rang?" Asked Zorome, from the entrance to the quarters .

Without turning around, Miku nodded. "I had Ichigo call you." She said in a quiet voice.

Zorome walked in and kneeled next to Miku. "What's wrong with you? You haven't gotten dressed nor gone for breakfast. You feel sick or something?" He asked.

Zorome studied her to see if he could notice something out of the ordinary. Nothing he could see was wrong in particular. She was just in her sleeping wear which consisted of a white long sleeved top and short white shorts. She was also hugging her pillow tightly, still not bothering to turn around.

The sight made his cheeks go red and instinctively, he whipped his head to the side in attempt to avert his eyes before he got yelled at.

But he should have known better than to hope that luck was on his side. "Quit staring already!" Miku said in a higher voice but at the cost of her voice cracking. "I don't have to turn to know you're gawking at me." She said, lowering her voice again.

"I-I wasn't gawking!" Zorome defended himself. Miku finally turned around to face her partner, raising an eyebrow at him.

Zorome only sighed and sat comfortably on what he assumed was Ikuno's mattress. "What's wrong?" He asked.

The two made eye contact with each other and the look of concern in Zorome's eyes made Miku's face grow hotter. Placing a hand on her forehead, she swallowed thickly. Just when she opened her mouth to say something, Zorome crawled closer to her.

Miku watched as Zorome removed her hand and lifted up her bangs and with his other hand, he lifted up his bangs. She stared at him with a blank expression as he placed his forehead on hers and stayed that way for a few moments.

A few seconds passed and Zorome backed up. "Doesn't look like you've caught a fever." He said, eying Miku worriedly.

Miku's only reaction was her face turning really red. She couldn't bring herself to say anything, the words just wouldn't come out. The way his brows furrowed with concern made him look so... so.. c-c..cu-Creepy. Miku shook her head to snap out of whatever thoughts that were going on in her head.

This went unnoticed by Zorome who was looking out the sleeping quarters to see the others eating breakfast. Miku felt like screaming. She almost called him cute. He was anything but cute. Miku thought the other guys in their squad were cuter than he was. "It's your voice, huh?" Zorome interrupted her thoughts.

Miku simply stared at him. He turned to face her and sat closer to her. Miku sighed and nodded slowly, giving Zorome an answer while staying quiet.

Zorome had a smirk plastered on his face. "Did your nagging finally come back to haunt you?" He teased.

Miku kicked him in the back as a response. By now, she had recovered enough from Zorome's stunt to make words come out of her mouth. "I'm not in the mood for your mockery." Miku said as she sat up on her mattress.

Zorome gave one last chuckle before he calmed down. "I was just teasing you, my bad." He said, placing his hand behind his head. "So, you gunna tell me how it happened?" He asked, getting serious.

Miku grabbed her pillow to hug. "I don't know how." She whispered.

"Well, do you hurt anywhere?" Zorome asked.

Miku shook her head.

"Do you want me to call a doctor?" Zorome asked again.

Miku shook her head again.

He was getting irritated with her. Just what did she want him to do then? "Is there a reason you called me? Or did you call me to waste my time?" Zorome asked in a harsh tone.

Miku's body visibly stiffened. She hid her eyes behind her bangs and buried her face in her pillow she had in her lap. "I don't know why I asked for you," Miku started. "It's just... I don't want to see anyone else right now." She said. Her voice was quiet already as it was and it was even harder to hear since her voice was muffled by her pillow. "Do you mind staying with me for a little while?" Miku asked, finally lifting her head a little, allowing Zorome to hear a little more clearly.

Zorome crossed his arms, still frowning. "I don't mind." He replied in an equally low voice.

Zorome stubbornly closed his eyes as he replied so he failed to see Miku make her way over to him. He opened his eyes when he felt his legs gain extra weight. He looked down and was surprised to see that Miku had laid her head on his legs, using it as a pillow. His cheeks went beet red but he didn't dare move as he saw her comfortably laying there with her eyes closed.

"Hey, Zorome?" He heard Miku call.

"Yeah?" He replied as he hesitantly stroked her head, running his fingers through her hair. He was afraid of what her reaction might be. He didn't know why he did it, it just happened.

He was relieved when he felt her body loosen up as a response to his touch. "I can be honest with you, right?" Miku asked as she shifted to look at him.

"Sure," Zorome answered, trying to avoid eye contact with her.

"I lost my voice when we heard what Hiro told Papa. I don't know how it happened, but all I need is some medicine and I'll be fine." Miku said.

Zorome's eyes narrowed at the mention of Papa. "That's a relief." He replied. He watched as Miku looked around nervously, as if there was something else that was on her mind.

Miku saw that Zorome was looking at her questioningly. She took a deep breath before talking. "I feel that there are things that I would feel more comfortable talking about with you than with other people, even the girls." Miku stated. "I can talk to you about anything, can't I? You know, being partners and all?"

Zorome suddenly stopped playing with Miku's hair. He looked at her anxious expression with a blank expression of his own. "Yeah, I don't mind. I mean, it's only natural to trust your partner enough to be comfortable to talk to them about anything, right?" He replied while starring at the ceiling.

Miku felt her cheeks turn red. She was happy with his answer but that wasn't the response she was expecting. Especially from him. "I'm a little scared," Miku turned away from Zorome, back to the position she was in when she first laid on his lap.

Zorome's mind was all over the place. He didn't know how he got into this mess, nor did he know how to get out. When he heard Miku say that she wanted to talk about things she doesn't want to consult the other girls, made him freak out. The last thing he wanted was to talk about girly stuff and other things he had no clue about. But even then, he couldn't get over the feeling that its not about that. "Scared of what?" He asked, some of her fear mixing in with his anger.

"About the things Hiro said. About how Papa will set us free after our next mission, and the fact that Papa isn't our Papa anymore." Miku said, clutching the ends of Zorome's shorts.

Zorome leaned back with a sigh. "I've been thinking about that too," he said. All of his earlier confusion gone. "I've been worried about what may happen to all of us."

Miku let go of Zorome's now wrinkled shorts and turned to look at him with a confused look. "You have? Well there's a surprise." Miku's eyes widened as she heard what had accidentally slipped out of her mouth. With a furious blush, she turned back around away from Zorome, half expecting to get thrown off his lap.

Zorome's eyebrows twitched with annoyance. Count on Miku to ruin the moment with an unnecessary insult. "Shut up," he answered back, not in the mood for their usual quarrel.

Miku let out the breath she was holding. She was glad that he didn't take it personal. She honestly didn't mean what she said. And she was especially glad that he didn't push her off of him. He just playfully shoved her a little to prove his annoyance.

"It's not that I disagree with Hiro on how I see Papa now. Its just... it's all we ever had. We lost him, and now we have nothing." Zorome said, getting back on topic.

Miku finally got off Zorome's lap much to his relief. She watched with a light blush as he massaged his numb legs. She sat next to him, leaving an arm's rest space in between them. "I get what you mean now," Miku replied as she reached for her pillow once again. "I'm just afraid of what might happen next."

Zorome leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs, supporting his head, sitting crisscrossed. "Remember when I got separated from you guys in the city?" He asked. Miku nodded. With her eyes, she urged him to continue. "I met this adult who took care of me after I fainted from a fall. She gave a really strange vibe like I've seen her before,"

"What do you mean?" Miku asked as she leaned her head on Zorome's shoulder.

"I felt that she's been watching over me my entire life. I've never met her before or anything, it was almost like déjà vu. But now that I lost Papa, I'm truly alone. All my life I aspired to become an adult. Killing Klaxosaurs was supposed be a step closer to that. I guess our only purpose in life was to pilot Franxx. I understand now, no one has ever been looking out for me. No one ever will, no one even cares." Zorome went on to explain. He stopped when he felt Miku smack him on his head.

He turned to look at her and saw hurt in her eyes and a stern expression on her face. He was shocked when Miku tackled him onto the ground of mattresses, hugging him. "Don't ever say that," she said, burring her face in between his neck and his shoulder.

They both got back into sitting position. Miku pulled Zorome in for a hug. She held him closely, allowing her to rest his head on her chest. "You're not alone, idiot. You have me, we have each other. I'll be the one to look out for you, even when you don't want me to. Always have, and always will. Just like you look after me. Besides, Hiro and the others are here for you too. Don't you ever think you're alone. Now that we are on our own we have to rely on each other whatever challenges come our way we face them together. If we stick together, we'll make it through. I'm sure." She said as loudly as she could without straining her vocal cords.

Miku caught sight of Zorome's ever so rare tears forming in his watery eyes. She also saw his uncharacteristic smile which made her heartbeat speed up. "Oi, when did the conversation switched from you to me?" He chuckled as he parted from her embrace.

Miku shrugged. She dried off his tears with her hand, a small blush on her face. "Th-thanks, for trusting in me to talk about what's on your mind." She said, looking away.

Zorome put a hand on Miku's shoulder, startling her. She turned to look at him. They stared at each other. Unknowingly, the gap between them was slowly closing.

By the time their faces were inches apart, Zorome whispered loud enough for her to hear, "Thank you," and closed the distance by placing his lips on hers.

Miku was shocked at his action once again, her face going bright red and her heart speeding up at a crazy rate. She kissed back and the two entered a lip lock and shared a passionate kiss.

They split up as soon as they ran out of breath. They were both panting and shortly after Miku turned towards the entrance to see Futoshi staring at the with a terrified expression. He ran off, revealing the rest of their squad. "Get Out!" Miku shouted, embarrassedly. Her voice crack created a terrifying pitch sending chills to the others.

The only ones left at the entrance was Zero Two and Mitsuru. Zorome, with an equally red face as Miku, pushed the two back to the dining table, leaving her alone. "Alright you bastards, there's nothing to see here!"

Miku's throat hurt after that yell. She decided to join the others for breakfast despite the awkwardness that the others are going to put her through. She decided it wasn't going to get in the way of her being fed.

Miku got into her uniform and before she stepped out, she placed her fingers on her lips, remembering the sensation she felt when kissing Zorome. "I knew it, he really is the cutest after all," She said heading for the table, smiling.


End file.
